Lazer Beams

Mumbai: The Real War

The Western intelligence community doesn’t yet realize the ramifications of Mumbai. Even if the CIA, Mossad, and MI5 pool their resources, they still lack the spiritual insight to realize what they’re up against. The real war in Mumbai is not a matter of western democracy versus Islamofascist terrorism. It’s much deeper than that...

It's unusual when the directorship of Breslev Israel asks me to write an additional editorial in the middle of the week. But, with the return home of our Mumbai Martyrs of saintly and blessed memory, it's imperative to understand the spiritual background of what's happening. Continue reading here. 

Another Dangerous Escalation

My esteemed friends at Debka.com are wrote an excellent piece about how the terrorists beat the Shin-Bet defense system in the Mercaz HaRav massacre this past Thursday. Let's take a deeper look at the ramifications of the modus operandi chosen for the Mercaz HaRav attack:
The killer: Ala Abu Daam, the 20 year-old deliveryman from Jabal Mukaber in the south of Jerusalem, was not trained in Gaza or in Iran. His operator most certainly was. Yet, as a quiet but frenzied Islamo-zealot, Abu Daam was perfect Shahid (suicide) material. The dangerous aspect of this profile is that more and more Arabs holding Israeli IDs are aligning with terror activists. This is an answer to Nasralla's call for a miilion and a half shahidim. Hamas and Hizbulla operatots are therefore doing their utmost to activite such candidates as Abu Daam from within Israeli Arab villages.
The operator: Abu Daam was most certainly armed and coached by a Hamas/Hizbulla operator, trained by Iran. The infiltration of these operators into the villages of the so-called West Bank is a new danger that the Shin Bet will have to contend with. The Shin Bet would well be advised to throw its power against this vicious enemy, and not to waste its resources monitoring Jewish settlers.
The Method: A million soldiers in a frontal assault against an enemy nation can't kill the king; a lone spy behind the lines can. Arab terror has realized the vulnerability of operating in "cells" of 3-4 terrorist. They've further compartmentalized and have now chosen the lone assailant method, whereas only the Shahid himself - not even the operator - knows and decides when to attack.
Conclusions:
1. Whereas our anti-emuna leaders can rarely be believed, our enemies Nasrulla and Hamas are true to their word. They promised a painful response to the Mughniyeh hit, and it didn't take long to come, as we saw this past tragic Thursday in Jerusalem
2. The Condi-inspired-Olmert-style appeasement is simply fuelling more Hamas dare.
3. Hashem told Mordechai and Esther to take up arms in a merciless battle against Haman and the enemies of Israel. It's about time we did the same.

Emuna News Analysis: The Shmitta-Iran Connection

For those who are new to the Beams, from time to time we write op-eds and news analyses, but these are only for the purpose of showing how Hashem runs the world. We stress that Lazer Beams and Emuna Outreach have no interest in politics nor do we support any political party, religious or otherwise. We are neither right, left, or center. The Shulchan Aruch (Code of Jewish Law) is what we unshakebly adhere to.

This year, 5768 in the Hebrew calendar, is a shmitta or seventh year, when the Torah requires the land of our holy and beloved homeland to lie fallow, for this is a year of rest for the land. Jews are not allowed to eat vegetables illegally grown during the seventh year, and must either purchase our veggies from non-Jewish farmers or from abroad.

For the last four months, since Rosh Hashanna, the anti-emuna regime in Israel has been waging a covert war on the Torah-observant populace. Sanctioned with the backing of the Prime Minister himself, the ministries of agriculture and trade made staunch protests during cabinet meetings, calling for the government to ban the import of vegetables as well as outlaw the sale of Gaza-grown vegetables within Israel. Even the Israeli Supreme Court intervened to force the state Rabbinate to grant kosher certificates to vegetables that were grown on Jewish-owned land according to the heter mechira, which the ultra-orthodox population doesn't recognize.*

The situation was bleak, with vegetable prices rocketing sky-high in Haredi neighborhoods. With the government attempt to coerce the Haredim to lower their halachic standards, supplies were dwindling and prices were constantly rising. This was acute, especially in light of the fact that we Israelis consume a large amount of fresh vegetables.

Hashem decided to put an end to the Israeli government's newest sanctions against the Torah-loyal population. Not only have the last four months - our annual rainy season - been as dry as a bone, but we are just now emerging from a devastating nationwide frost that has destroyed virtually all the vegetables that have been planted during this current shmitta year. So, not only is the Haredi (ultra-orthodox) population eating vegetables from overseas, but the general populace as well. The same government ministers that tried to prevent Hashem's loyal sons from strict observance of the shmitta year by refusing to allow them to import veggies are now eating salads made with carrots from Morocco, onions from Egypt, and tomatoes from Jordan.

Hashem is showing us that He can overturn the silly schemes that the anti-emuna government devises at any given moment. If Hashem decides what's for dinner, He'll also decide our future. Therefore, we need not lose a moment of sleep about the government's poorly-pondered pointless puppet-style peace plans.

So what does all this have to do with Iran? Time and again, you've heard us condemn the anti-emuna government's dependence on the wobbly reed of flesh and blood. Olmert misplaced his trust, putting in Uncle Sam (samech-mem, the Yetzer) rather than in Hashem. The wobbly reed has broken. Former US Ambassador to the UN Bolton said recently, "I think, given the debacle caused by our National Intelligence Estimate, that it's close to zero likelihood that President Bush will authorize use of military force against Iran's program before he leaves office, absent some dramatic new development." Bolton is a decent chap and a man in the know. He is declaring flat out, "You're on your own, Jewboys!"

Again, Hashem is doing us a favor. He wants us to trust Him rather than trusting Gog Bush and Condescending Rice. No one would be more thrilled than us if our government ministers would make tshuva.

By example of the shmitta vegetables, Hashem is showing us who runs the world. We therefore have nothing to worry about, from Achmedinejad or from anyone else. That's the connection between the Moroccan carrots that we all ate for dinner and the Iranian nuclear schemes. Hashem can freeze Iran's nuclear development just as fast as He can freeze the forbidden shmitta-year vegetables that the government was trying to force on us.

If you're still sceptical, all of Israel is talking about the  shmitta miracle of two adjacent banana orchards: Despite the frost, the one managed according to Halacha was completely spared, while the other plot was destroyed in the frost. Hashem is talking to us loud and clear: "Beloved sons and daughters - when shall you throw away your follies and begin to believe in Me!"

It's time for emuna and trust.

Rabbenu Yona says that he who trusts Hashem will be saved from all calamity. Here in Israel, we see this daily.

Building our Emuna and trust is the key word, and not worrying. Let's roll up our sleeves - there's plenty of work to do.

*The Shemittah or sabbatical year is a Biblically-ordained, year-long period during which Jews are forbidden to work the Land of Israel.  It is observed once every seven years. Some 120 years ago, when Jews began to return to the Land of Israel after nearly two millennia of exile, they began farming the land for their livelihood.  When the first Shemittah year arrived, in 1889, leading rabbis ruled that the farm land could be sold to non-Jews for the Shemittah year, and could be then farmed almost as usual - with the condition that major agricultural activities such as plowing be performed by non-Jews.  This arrangement was known as the heter mechirah, literally, the "sale dispensation."  Other leading rabbis did not accept it, however - setting the stage for a century-plus of disputes on this issue.

Gog and Magog on our Doorstep

Tamar Yonah from INR asked me to write the following Emuna News overview before I get on the plane to Canada later today.

The bottom line is that the war of Gog and Magog has already begun. Here's some background:

The USA - by Robert Gates' own admission - is not winning the war in Iraq. Objective analysts are saying that America is losing ground fast in Afghanistan. That's an understatement. Emuna News sources say that the level of US troups there has quadrupled under the noses of the folks asleep back home on the cushy continent. The world's richest and most technologically sophisticated military machine has failed to capture Sheikh Osama Bin Ladin after more than a 6-year global full-court press.

The capture of Sadaam Hussein was no big score, on a spiritual level. Sadaam was the lowest form of immorality, on a level with rats like Arafat and his crooked successors. Today's ballgame is different and much stickier: America is no longer up against the secular Sadaam, but against Jihadi Islams with a kamakaze-type uncompromising ideology. Things don't look good for Uncle Sam by the banks of the Babylon.

On one side, you have the capital of global materialism and liberality - with all its moral decay - namely, the USA and such puppets as the current Israeli government (which represents neither the Jewish people nor the Torah) and the PA. The common denominator between the 3 are material lusts and mega corruption. Led by Bush, Condi, the CFR, and their cronies, this is Gog.

The opponent on the other side is the Holy War team of Islam, led by Achmedinejad waving the flag of jihad and sharia. He pulls the strings of Nasrulla and the Hizbolla, of Syria, of the Hamas, and now of Gaza. He happily fuels the fires in neighboring Iraq, and gives the Taliban in Afghanistan all the help it needs. Achmedinejad is committed; he's giving Gog Bush and the USA bloody noses and black eyes all over the place. He is Magog, very spiritual, but from the Sitra Achra, the dark side.

Both Gog and Magog want to take Jerusalem and the Holy Kotel and Temple Mount from the hands of the faithful. In effect, the whole world is against the tiny core of committed Jews in Jerusalem, Tzfat, Bnai Brak, Ashdod, Beitar, Kiryat Sefer, Bet Shemesh, Hevron, and elsewhere in the Holy Land. This is the super extreme test of faith that Rebbe Nachman warned us of (see Rebbe Nachman's Discourses, 35 and 220), the whole world against a handfull of the faithful. Therefore, it's no surprise that the current Israeli regime (subservient to Gog) is trying to dismantle Jewish settlements and relinquish Jerusalem. Don't let this upset you and don't waste your time demonstrating. The only way to  fight Gog is by strengthening our faith.

We who cling to Hashem and to His Torah in the Land of Israel are like a little chick hiding under the table while the wolves go at each other's throats. In the coming months, there'll be lots of noise and turmoil all around us. When the smoke clears, we'll crawl out from our hiding places with our Gemaras and Likutei Moharan in hand, and welcome the shining countenance of Moshiach and a new dawn. This is a promise from our sages for generations.

My non-Jewish friends ask, "What about us?" If you accept Hashem with all your heart, and commit to the Seven Noahide commandments (which are a cinch), you're home free, right there with us on the finish line. Welcome aboard wherever you are.

What can you do to help Israel, the Jewish people, and yourself? Strengthen your emuna, your pure and steadfast faith in Hashem. That's the whole battle, says Rebbe Nachman. The day is fast coming when money and material amenities will turn into dust. Why devote your life to accumulating dust? Come home to Hashem. You don't know the way? We're hear to extend a helping hand - that's what Emuna Outreach and the Beams are all about.

See you soon in Toronto, Hamilton, and Atlanta, G-d willing.

Winning the War

Our special friend Baruch (Ken) Becker, talented Disney illustrator and the father of Nachman Emuna, has been worried about the various headlines lately: talk about relinquishing parts of Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria to the PA, tension on the Syrian border, threats from Iran, Hizbolla, and the Hamas, and the constant media barrages against the religious public in Israel. He wrote me and asked me what he can do. I told him that the only way to win all the wars is with emuna - putting all our trust in Hashem. This is a two-fold battle - strengthening ourselves, and helping to strengthen others by doing whatever we can for Jewish outreach. Baruch wrote back, "Fine, I'd like to volunteer for Emuna Outreach's recruiting office, calling people to get closer to Hashem." I didn't exactly know what Baruch meant until he sent me this:

Will there be a Palestinian State?

"Kelly" is a handsome, extremely dignified and articulate executive in Jewish West Jerusalem. He heads an import-export firm, and speaks perfect Hebrew, impeccable Arabic, and the Queen's English. Kelly is really Khaled, who behind the fancy facade of his tailored Bagir suit is a devout Moslem from East Jerusalem. Don't ask me how I know him, but we're good friends with a high level of mutual respect.

Last week, we met in his office after hours for a candid discussion about the future of this area. It's an eye-opener, as you'll soon see:

Lazer: Kelly, explain to me how the Hamas seized power in Gaza.

Kelly: It's simple. The Israelis and certainly the Americans have no idea of who the Hamas really is. They label them arch-terrorists and then their consciences are clear. The truth is that the man on the street in Gaza loves the Hamas. While Abu Amar [Yassir Arafat - LB] and his buddies were padding their pockets and letting the people of Palestine starve to death, the Hamas had an entire network of social aid societies that you Chassidim would be proud of. They gave out food to the poor, cared for orphans, and helped the sick.

Lazer: Does that explain their success at the polls?

Kelly: Most definitely. The Hamas was elected in a perfectly democratic election with a more-than-healthy majority. This is what makes my blood boil, and the blood of many other moderate Palestinians: The two-faced USA, the world's "guardians" of democracy, refuse to recognize a democratically-elected regime. Is there a limit to hippocracy?

Lazer: Outside of Russia and Iran, no one else has recognized the Hamas either. Why blame the US?

Kelly: Please, Lazer, don't play naive with me. The Hamas is no man's puppet. That's the "problem" with the strong believers such as Achmedinejad of Iran and Nasrulla of the Hizbolla. They have ideology. They have a commitment to what they believe in. You can't buy them. The US can't stand anyone or anything that can't be bought with their greenbacks. Look at Olmert and Abu Mazen - you can't have two more perfect partners like two peas right out of a pod. Both are weak leaders. Both are corrupt. And both are American puppets.

Lazer: What does the average Moslem in Hevron or Gaza City think of Abu Mazen?

Kelly: You'd be amazed how our society resembles yours. We have a growing polarization between religious and non-religious. I can't make a general statement about Gaza and the West Bank, because their respective social dynamics are so different. Don't forget that Egyptian cultural influence sets the tone in Gaza, while Jordanian influence permeates the West Bank [until 1967, Gaza was under Egyptian administration, and Judea and Sammaria were under Jordanian rule - LB].

Lazer: Let's start with you, Kelly, and your family in East Jerusalem.

Kelly: My father for example is 87 years old. He hates the Fatah and Abu Mazen. He says that they're trying to take our youth away from God and turn them into drug pushers. He also hates Abu Mazen's ally, secular Israel.

Lazer: Why?

Kelly: Our daughters are picking up all the bad habits of the brazen secular women of Israel. They've lost their modesty and dignity. The Hamas on the other hand, is spearheading a return to Islam, a return to old values.

Lazer: Living by the sword?

Kelly: Come to your senses, Lazer; you expect us to turn another cheek? Let's stop for a moment. Before 1948, Arab and Jew lived peacefully side-by-side in Jerusalem. Do you know that my father still speaks perfect Yiddish?

Lazer: Yes, and the old Yerushalmis like Rav Moshe Halberstam of blessed memory could speak perfect Arabic.

Kelly: That's because they lived in harmony. In fact, we have the greatest respect for Chassidim. You are people of honor who respect all humans. Admit it, you are no better than a second-class citizen within the secular Zionist regime that hates you.

Lazer: No comment, Kelly; I won't say a bad thing about a Moslem, so I certainly won't say something derogatory about a Jew. It's my job as a rabbi to help the secular find the way back to their roots.

Kelly: Good luck and wishful thinking. But, that's exactly what your people need - a return to the faith. Without you Chassidim, your country would crumble like all the other decadent societies.

Lazer: Hashem will decide who crumbles and who doesn't. Let's get back on the track, Kelly. Will there be a Palestinian State?

Kelly: Not as the Americans want. I believe that ultimately, the Hamas will gain power in the West Bank. With Iranian and Syrian help, the Hamas will attain a Hizbulla-like balance of power deterrent with Israel. Today's Israel is afraid of a war with Hizbulla and Syria. They are cowards that lack conviction. They want comforts and conveniences, and are unwilling to sacrifice. Every Arab 4 year-old in the Middle East laughs at the paper Zionist tiger. We read about the scandals and the corruption of your government and we know that they will eventually crumble. I visualize an international state with equal rights for all. Let each person respect his neighbor - live and let live.

Lazer: And you're willing to beat your sword into a plowshare?

Kelly: Yes. Eventually, there won't be anyone left over here but Arabs and Chassidim anyway. Just as we lived together 60 years ago, we can do it again. Inshallah! [May it be Hashem's will - LB]

This was neither a debate nor an attempt to prove Kelly wrong on any given point, just a probe of the way a Moslem neighbor views our world.

Katyushas - sign of love or sign of hate?

Dear Rabbi Lazer,

The Katyushas just don't let up. Aren't they a sign that Hashem has forsaken us and that He hates us? Sorry if the question sounds babyish, but to me, your whole Tshuva deal seems Mickey Mouse. Meanwhile, I'm losing faith in everything and everyone - the government, the army, the rabbis - you name it. I feel like I don't care if the next rocket lands on my head. If you're not totally ticked off at my chutzpa, drop me a line and pick me up. Robert from the Nahariya area

Dear Robert,

The Zohar (Bechukotai, 114) states: "How beloved are the children of Israel before the Holy One, blessed be He! He desires to reprove them and to lead them on the straight path, like a loving father who wields a rod in hand in order to lead the son on the straight path, so that the son shall not stray to the right or to the left, as it is written (Proverbs, 3:12), "Hashem reproves those that He loves, and like a father, mollifies the child."

Ponder the above proverb for a moment. If Hashem reproves those that He loves, inversely, He doesn't reprove those that He hates! If so, a life devoid of trials and tribulations is not a very good sign. Our Talmudic sages warned (tractate Arachin, 16b) that if a person has forty consecutive days free of tribulations, he or she forfeits their share in the world to come! They also stated specifically (tractate Kiddushin, 40b) that the righteous receive tribulations in order to merit a lofty place in the world to come.

So, the Katyushas are a clear sign that you're a beloved son of Hashem. Knowing that Hashem loves you and is doing everything for your benefit makes life not only bearable, but meaningful. The contrary also holds true - ignorance of the fact that Hashem loves you and is helping you make your needed tikkun is the root of real suffering, worry, and anxiety.

Hashem doesn't want us to spend our lives in bars, cinemas, or sidewalk cafes, even if we do go to shul every once in a while and eat kosher. Since we haven't woken up from lesser tribulations, Hashem has had to send us progressively louder "wake-up calls" that manifest themselves in the current rain of Katyushas. Hashem – the loving Father – uses the rod of tribulations as an expression of love, to teach us that we're not "calling the shots", but are subservient to a higher authority when we don't have the sense to learn it on our own.

We all know that Peretz, Olmert, and Halutz have no solution for the Hizbolla, the rockets, Syria, or Iran; any ceasefire won't last, and will only give Israel's enemies a chance to regroup and to hit us harder at a later date. If we don't wake up from the Katyushas, we're liable to see Zelzals and dirty warheads in the near future. If Hashem wouldn't awaken us from the damage that permissive Western lifestyles is doing to our souls, that would be a sign of hate. The Katyushas are a sign of love. When we do wake up, Hashem with one fell swoop will dispose of our enemies. 

A loving parent punishes a child out of love, but a smart child doesn't put the parent in a situation where the parent has to wield the rod! Hashem would much rather express His love to us by bringing Moshiach and by building the Beis Hamikdash, but we must do Tshuva first.

Robert, any weakling can get drunk, space out on pills, and check out. We have to hold on tight a little bit longer, and then everything will be OK. You can call tshuva Mickey Mouse, but with Hashem's help, that type of Mickey Mouse will get us through the war.

Please stay in touch, and take your tefillin with you every time you go downstairs to the shelter. With Hashem's help, the smoke will clear soon. With blessings always, LB

If Tshuva is Mickey Mouse...

...then the little critter at left is Israel's secret weapon.

The Yetzer wants you to think that Tshuva isn't cool, but the Yetzer would rather have you popping Zoloft or sipping whiskey sours than serving Hashem.

When the going gets tough, the tough get going. Now's the time to get in Hizbolla's the Yetzer's face and say, "I'm not giving in to you any more, you scoundrel! I'm turning to Hashem!" With Tshuva, you not only defeat the Yetzer, but you land a mortal blow on the Hizbolla as well.

Mickey Mouse is stronger than people think.